Ainslie to join BAR Academy in San Diego

The competition heads to San Diego Bay tomorrow for the first time in the global circuit’s history.

Land Rover BAR Academy have competed in the series since March 2016 and currently sit sixth overall.

Ainslie will helm the foiling GC32 as well as take on a mentoring role for the young sailors.

The Team Principal said he was proud of the team’s efforts over the years.

Ainslie said: ‘I am so proud of everything the Land Rover BAR Academy team have achieved since we launched the programme back in January 2014.

‘All their hard work, commitment and dedication really came together in Bermuda and the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup success. It was a real achievement!

‘I’m looking forward to joining the team in San Diego and getting back amongst the Extreme Sailing Series fleet.’

The Land Rover BAR Academy recently held a recruitment day.

Over 20 young sailors aged between 19-24 came together at the team base in Portsmouth to trial for the team.

Jono Macbeth, Land Rover BAR sailing manager, said: ‘It’s been great to have the next batch of recruits trialling out for the Land Rover BAR Academy.

‘We are always looking for the next generation of sailors to invest in and mentor so they can move forward in their sailing careers with us.

‘We had a great turnout and saw some real potential in the fitness tests, so we’re looking forward to more young sailors joining the team.

‘The opportunity to sail with Ben in San Diego will be hugely valuable for the current squad and it really shows what the programme is all about, the senior team coming together with the junior, on and off the water.

‘We hope to see more of this over the next few years.’

The racing can be watched live on the Extreme Sailing Series Youtube channel and Facebook from tomorrow until Sunday.